All My Children Commentary

Current Two Scoops column

AMC star talks about being booted from flight:
All My Children's Jennifer Bassey (ex-Marian Colby) tells her side of the incident that got her kicked off a Delta flight last week. Read the column now...

Thank the Soap Opera Gods. Greg Madden is dead!!! It is over, finished, way overdue. Pretty anti-climatic considering how involved this mystery was, but nevertheless, we can finally rest from watching such gory, sadistic moments. Now of course we have to determine who did "the deed". Who is behind it all? One, two, a dozen people? Here it is two weeks since the last time I wrote and I am still unsure who the culprit is. Not that we are mourning the doctor's passing, but we do have to feel sympathy for his son, Josh. What a horrific way to find the man who raised you, who obviously loved you and pushed you to be the best you could be. He attempted to do CPR and revive the corpse. Josh Madden is now full of revenge and anger. He spent the week making visits to everyone he felt was partially responsible and has concluded JR Chandler is the one who buried his father alive. Hey, if the young Chandler could plan to kill his own wife, why not the man who knows where his sister is? Then he gets a cryptic message on the phone about how they know what he did. Yeah, right.

I do have a funny feeling it could be Zach Slater. It is his loyalty to the people he cares about. He had dual reasons with Kendall and Dixie both being victims. He mentioned to Erica possibly he did it for her and that he knew that Josh is her son, how would he know this? Are they having Ryan reveal his feelings for Kendall to have a safety net in case it is discovered that Zach got away with bribing a judge once but the next time he could serve time for his misdeeds? We know he has a lot of guys who could help him with such an undertaking (forgive the pun), and has access to state of the art audio equipment. Did he leave the message for JR on his phone too, he had promised to get him back for what he did to Kendall? Barbara, a fan, noted that Marty (Zach's front man) was the first to torture Dr Madden. Or like we discussed before, Thorsten Kaye doesn't renew his contract? Sometimes it isn't good to know too much ahead of time because it makes you start thinking like this. I would hate to see all of it blow up as I truly like Zach and Kendall as a couple. Yet, he does have a tendency to withhold and keep secrets. I also enjoy Kendall with Ryan, always did. It goes back to the fact that I have liked Kendall with everyone they matched her with, thanks in large part to the amazing talent and on-screen chemistry of the actress. She never ceases to amaze me.

When you stop to think of the couples on AMC, you realize how many partners are keeping secrets like Zach. Jonathan is pretending to still be "handicapped". Erica chose to not share Josh's parentage with Jackson. JR continues to conspire with Jamie and keeps Babe out of the loop. Erin breaks up with Aidan because she is trying to hide someone from him and Pine Valley. The biggest secret of all was taken to the grave by Dr Greg Madden or was it? Sometimes it is discouraging to watch so many secrets and deceptions and not seeing honesty to instill trust in relationships on the show. My chuckle of the week was when Erica went into her fake confession about being the one who knocked off Greg. It was such Erica Kane style and very amusing.

I didn't like the way they had Amanda Dillon return to town and I am just as unhappy with Colby Chandler. I know it makes for a more interesting story to have them full of anger and mischief, but it doesn't always stay true to the history. Granted, the teen years are rough for all kids and parents. Yet there is no way to convince me that Liza Colby was that horrible a mother. We saw how Amanda was such a well-adjusted young girl, very devoted to her parents. Ditto for Colby. Yes, Liza took her away from her father and Pine Valley but with valid reasons. Now we have a smart-mouthed, rebellious girl who will undoubtedly cause havoc for her father, stepmother, and brother to name a few. It was difficult to hear them badmouth Liza after remembering how it used to be when she was in town. It should be interesting when Stuart and Marian get reacquainted with their granddaughter who aged quickly. Who would have thought Krystal would be the voice of reason, but she seems to have Colby's number and doubt will tolerate inappropriate behavior in "their" mansion. First JR was a thorn in her side and now another stepchild to deal with. Such a price to pay for love and wealth.

Tad Martin is full of anger and slowly slipping into his own personal Hell. I was shocked when he stood aside to watch Josh dig up his father after the earthquake and just look up at the fireworks overhead occasionally. He showed no emotion, just watched and never even covered his face from the stench as others did when they discovered the crime scene. He has lashed out at Dixie and Di over losing the last chance to find his daughter. There is a fine line between love and hate, and he obviously walks that for Dixie Cooney. He cannot forgive her and is so judgmental and sarcastic. I hate to say it, but Dixie deserved the tongue-lashing Josh gave her on being an unfit mother and the angel of death. There was so much to that whole European fiasco and no one is entirely to blame. Yet another secret kept and buried too long. Also, Cady McClain's acting style or something has changed. It could just be me, but she is bugging the heck out of me. She has this thing she does with her eyes that is very distracting, batting her eyelashes and squinting a lot. I can't pinpoint it, and please know I have always been a big fan and rode that powerful wave through the Tad/Dixie heydays. I have met her on several occasions in person. So I am not being overcritical, just a weird observation.

JR and Babe reconcile and once again consummate their marriage. They have a nice family moment with their son for JR's birthday. Kendall spends the night at the hospital waiting for the next morning she can take Spikey home. Ryan makes attempts to get her to sleep but she is giddy and keeps jabbering. They have some heartwarming moments and then when they do return to their condo the following day, Zach has turned it into a toy store atmosphere with balloons and everything a new baby would need. The best part is he did the same for Ryan's condo across the courtyard. Their homecoming is interrupted by Dixie looking for Zach's shoulder to cry on about Greg's demise and her last chance to find Kate. He, of course, reassures her the search will continue and Ryan also says he is there for her. As we can see, she has a whole group of supporters who had wished Greg dead if not being directly involved.

They did some interesting camera work and unique scenes this past week. When Josh would be talking to each "suspect" personally, there was this slow motion close-up that was different. Then the way the medical examiner did the autopsy and you heard all the details were well done.

FAREWELL FOR NOW
It has definitely been great being back on board at Two Scoops. I appreciate all the notes I got with rants, comments, and good wishes…….and will ALWAYS welcome them. I will still return periodically as Mary and Kristine take well-deserved vacations with their families. I am sure there will be lots to discuss and comment about as this mystery unfolds and our favorite characters delight and entertain us weekly. Enjoy the rest of your summer and happy viewing,

Two Scoops is an opinion column. The views expressed are not designed to be indicative of the opinions of soapcentral.com or its advertisers. The Two Scoops section allows our Scoop staff to discuss what might happen, what has happened, and to take a look at the logistics of it all. They stand by their opinions and do not expect others to share the same view point.